BAD NEWS: Two key players for the Philadelphia Flyers have been suspended by the NHL, which will impact their upcoming game against the Red Wings.

BAD NEWS: Two key players for the Philadelphia Flyers have been suspended by the NHL, which will impact their upcoming game against the Red Wings.

Following a hearing on Wednesday, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Tony DeAngelo, a defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers, has been suspended for two games for spearing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Corey Perry in the groin.

The incident happened during Tuesday night’s 5-2 Philadelphia loss to the Lightning at Amalie Arena in the third period. DeAngelo received a game misconduct and a major penalty.

The NHL Player Safety Department provided an explanation.

“Well, after the whistle blows, DeAngelo turns around and walks back toward Perry. He then draws back his stick and stabs him in the groin with the point, sending Perry to the ice. This is spearing. The fact that DeAngelo chooses to spear Perry while he is not looking at him and does not interact with him in any way before doing so is noteworthy.

“What causes this play to rise to the level of a suspension is the premeditated nature of the foul against an unsuspecting opponent well after the whistle, the area of the body where the spear was delivered and the force of the blow.”

Following the game, Flyers head coach John Tortorella said to reporters, “I haven’t seen the clip of what happened.” “Guys in the room said it was pretty obvious what happened.”

“That’s the line you walk, in terms of going over the edge,” he continued. I want him to be himself and to still be competitive. I hoped that some of that would rub off on the guys I did sit with. Again, I haven’t witnessed it, but I believe he might have gone too far.”

Shortly before, he attempted to cut my stick out of my hands. “All game, he talks,” he remarked. “He refuses to fight, even though I asked him to. He’ll tell you that for years, he has asked me to fight. I never refuse anything. But didn’t try to take a chance on him [where it landed]. The replay most likely appears worse.

DeAngelo played with the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2021–22 season before joining the Flyers for his first season. In 59 games this season, he has 10 goals and 24 assists, but he also has a minus-28 rating.

After an altercation with goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, the 27-year-old spent slightly more than three seasons with the New York Rangers before being waived by the team. The 27-year-old made his NHL debut with the Arizona Coyotes in 2016–17.

In 2017, DeAngelo received a three-game suspension for misbehaving towards officials while he was a member of the Coyotes.

In addition, he served two suspensions as a prospect in the Ontario Hockey League for disobeying the organization’s directive to “keep homophobic, racist, and sexist language out of the game.”

DeAngelo will not play in the Penguins and Hurricanes games. When the Vegas Golden Knights visit town on March 14, he is qualified to start again. Justin Braun is expected to play in Philadelphia’s third defensive pairing in the interim.

The Flyers’ 24-29-11 record keeps them well outside of the playoff picture. With 59 points, they are ranked seventh in the Metropolitan Division.